Overview

If you or your organization is in the process of establishing a Summer Camp—whether it's a day camp or 24-hour camp offering recreational, educational, or other enrichment programs to children 5 years of age (on or before September 1) and older—you must comply with Chapter 409.175, Florida Statutes and Chapter 435, Florida Statutes .

To protect children, Florida law requires all summer camp personnel to be screened, including owners, operators, employees, and volunteers who provide summer care for children. Volunteers providing less than 10 hours of service per month do not need to be screened, as long as they are always within sight of a person who meets the screening requirement.

Additional Resources

Below are more quick links to help guide you and to provide answers to your questions.

• For Parents
• LiveScan Form – for individuals getting background screened for their employer. The employer will have an ORI/OCA number to identify their business. The employee must print this form, complete the required information, and present it at the LiveScan vendor.
• Summer Camp & Background Screening Information
• What are ORI and OCA numbers?

Please report any complaints or concerns regarding background screening of Summer Camp staff to the Background Screening Helpdesk: 1-888-352-2849.

Summer Camp & Background Screening Information

Summer day camps and Summer 24-hour camps are defined in ss. 409.175, Florida Statutes .

Summer day camps are recreational, educational, and other enrichment programs operated during summer vacations for children who are 5 years of age on or before September 1 and older.

Summer 24-hour camps are recreational, educational, and other enrichment programs operated on a 24-hour basis during summer vacations for children who are 5 years of age on or before September 1 and older, and that are not exclusively educational.

• All summer camp personnel must be screened, including owners, operators, employees, and volunteers who provide care for children. Volunteers who assist on an occasional basis for less than 10 hours per month do not need to be screened if a qualified screened individual is always present and maintains visual supervision. All employees and volunteers under the age of 18 must be screened.
• All summer camp personnel must be screened no more than 60 days before beginning employment and must be re-screened annually, unless they continuously work in a profession caring for vulnerable populations, have not been unemployed for more than 90 days, and the Level 2 screening was completed within the last 5 years.
• International counselors must complete a Level 2 background screening upon arrival in Florida. Although not required by law, a background check from their home country should be requested. Most sponsoring organizations that place international counselors do provide such background checks.

Level 2 Background Screening

The requirements for Level 2 Background Screening are found in Chapter 435, Florida Statutes , and are as follows:

• Level 2 Background Screening requires fingerprinting for statewide criminal history checks through FDLE and national criminal history checks through the FBI and may include local law enforcement checks.
• Disqualifications are found in ss. 435.04, Florida Statutes , and include:
  • anyone who is arrested for and awaiting final disposition of a prohibited offense, regardless of adjudication;
  • anyone who has entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to a prohibited offense;
  • any juvenile adjudicated delinquent in which the record of committing a prohibited offense has not been sealed or expunged.
• The Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse, created due to changes in law during the 2012 legislative session, is a single data source for background screening results of persons required to be screened for employment. The Clearinghouse allows the results of criminal history checks to be shared among specified state agencies. Screening for summer camp personnel must be processed via the Clearinghouse. To establish a provider account, the program must already have an ORI/OCA number. To request a provider account, visit AHCA Single Sign-On Portal .
• The results from the background screening and the Affidavit of Good Moral Character should be maintained in each personnel file.
• Florida Department of Children and Families has the authority to ensure compliance with background screening. Currently, summer camps are only monitored when a complaint is received relating to noncompliance with background screening. Summer camps are not licensed by DCF and no additional training of employees is required.